Crystalline Visions
by Raven's Sparks
Summary: The fabulous three are back and in their seventh year. New teachers, mysteries and adventures await them.
1. Default Chapter

Crystalline Visions  
  
  
  
Finally, it was seventh year for the fabulous three, and they were the top of the class. Their favorite Professor was back, teaching Defense against the Dark Arts (DADA) along with his large dog, Snuffles. Anticipation was running high in the great hall as the upper-class students waited for the scared and shaking first years to arrive and be sorted. Ron and Harry scanned the head table, and noticed an empty seat. Hermione, being head girl, knew what was going on and whispered the scoop to her companions.  
  
Professor Flitwick would be working closely with the Ministry of Magic on top secret material for a while. His Ravenclaw cunning, skills, and experience as a Charms Master were highly needed in the impending war against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Logic usually escaped the minds of great wizards; but Professor Flitwick, while always the epitome of charm and kindness, was a very, very clever man.  
  
Through years attending symposiums in his field, Professor Flitwick had met equally amazing wizards and witches .  
  
As Headmaster Dumbledore reluctantly released him to the ministry, Flitwick recommended a very talented American master of charms who was willing to take the position for a year.  
  
Ron was the first to see her as she strolled into the room. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened so much that Harry turned to look in the direction of Ron's dumbfounded stare. The new master charmer had waist long silky raven hair, sea shell gray eyes, and legs clean up to her neck. In fact, her legs were so long that she practically glided her way to the head table. She was wearing muggle clothing: dusty blue jeans, gray alligator cowboy boots, and a mauve sweater under an open, billowing black robe.  
  
"Who the bloody hell is that?" squeaked Ron with a breaking voice.  
  
Dumbledore greeted and escorted the one whose charms were already so actively capturing her audience to the seat between Remus Lupin and Severus Snape. Before introducing herself to the other professors, she gave a half cocked smile towards Ron, just as Hermione smacked him on the shoulder to shut up.  
  
"When do we have our first lesson?" Ron wondered aloud and in awe.  
  
Harry couldn't suppress a laugh as he wondered what Ron would choose as the first lesson, given a free hand; and Hermione kicked Ron's nearer shin.  
  
"She's a highly qualified charms master, not that you would ever notice any charms other than the non-magical!" smirked Hermione.  
  
Harry briefly considered making a jab about her boundless enthusiasm for Lockhart's "charms", but decided he did not want to be hexed clear into next week or even next semester. Just as well, for Dumbledore presently stood to officially begin festivities. He quietly beckoned the new charmer, who half-glided and half-slinked, catlike, completely full of grace to join Dumbledore at the center of the head table.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, honorable witches and wizards in the making," he smiled as he slowly turned his head in a kindly survey of the assembled student body, "I am very pleased to present to you our newest faculty member, an extremely skilled and highly experienced woman who will very soon delight and inform you all with her vast knowledge of charms. I present to you the next master of Charms, Professor-"  
  
Neither Ron nor Harry heard what her name was, as Hermione broke into their hormone driven reveries with,  
  
"Notice he did not say 'the hot mamma of Charms'! I sincerely hope the two of you don't embarrass me too severely as you fall all over yourselves trying to please her."'  
  
She paused for moment as she reflected on the too often lackluster academic efforts of her favorite two companions and then added,  
  
"That might not be such a bad thing after all."  
  
If this woman could inspire Ron and Harry to aspire to and achieve academic excellence, maybe she truly was a master charmer worthy of the build up Dumbledore gave her. Shortly, they would begin to find out. 


	2. The Garden

IN THE GARDEN  
  
Finishing her Head Girl duties for the evening, Hermione slipped into the library for a bit of light reading before heading back to the dorms. As she came out again, Hermione could just make out the new professor walking down one of the corridors. Hermione was puzzled, however, when she noticed  
  
a large shadow moving alongside that of the new professor.  
  
Suddenly, a loud cursing erupted along with a loud and low rumbling sound. The first sound was Snape, of course; but Hermione could not place the rumble, although it seemed oddly familiar. Hermione heard a voice sneer something about "dangerous and diabolical creature"; and then she heard a scathing retort addressed to "a Mister Vlad."  
  
She could not hear all of what the new professor was saying in response, and she had to wonder if perhaps a Mister Vlad was somehow present with the two, making the rumbling sound. She hadn't time to listen for more, as she hurried back to the common room before Snape turned the corner and deducted a life time of points from Gryffindor for her hallway loitering.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
All evening the common rooms were buzzing over the new Professor and her charms. Pansy was no more pleased then Hermione, hearing the boys of her house talking ceaselessly about the sexy raven haired beauty. Pansy rolled her eyes in disgust while Draco and his goons drooled over the charms-tress' "finer points," especially as the hormone laden lads tended to use rather crude terms.  
  
  
  
Hermione, through her ever diligent efforts, had discovered only four paragraphs about the semester assignment for charms class, and that was in the restricted section of the library. The pages talked of an enlightened culture of humans who spent 12 hours a day in body form and 12 in purely energy form. The information also discussed tablets that described how this people could will their thoughts and memories into highly efficient electrical conductors such as exotic metals, glasses, and crystals. Little else was known about the race.  
  
  
  
She started to tell Ron and Harry the evening before what she had learned over the summer about what to expect in the ruins of the ancient garden, but they had hushed her.  
  
"I want to explore this garden completely without prejudicial knowledge gleaned from mere books," Ron told her, delighting that his deliberate pronunciation of "mere" had slightly annoyed her. He enjoyed playfully teasing her, cognizant as he was of the tremendous importance she placed on writing and on the great pride she took in being only the second seventh year student ever to gain unfettered access to the entire forbidden section of the library.  
  
  
  
"I think Ron is right," Harry agreed, "The purpose of meeting in the ruins is so that we can charm any knowledge of this lost race out of the walls and wells and other stones. I don't want anything to interfere with my receiving that knowledge."  
  
  
  
"Well," Hermione, who was somewhat dismissive of the power of charms to recover ancient knowledge left imprinted on stones, began, "I put a lot more trust in the scribes and scholars who worked so hard to preserve this ancient lore than in any person who tries to charm knowledge from the rocks. Although, if they were male rocks, I have little doubt she would succeed in learning just about everything about this lost race and the garden they built."  
  
  
  
Ron and Harry just rolled their eyes at each other and continued to talk about the new Professor.  
  
  
  
"What is her name again?" questioned an excited Ron.  
  
  
  
"Professor Silverbough, Cataria Silverbough is what the class description says," answered Harry.  
  
  
  
Ron was leaning over Harry's shoulder and staring at the non-magical photo of the Professor that was printed on the class sheet. The photo was a black and white head shot of the Professor as she leaned against what looked to be a lattice full of honeysuckle twining thickly between slats of white wood. The dark contrasting texture of the medium of black and white photography gave  
  
a striking image of both the woman and the flowers behind her.  
  
  
  
Her eyes were almond shaped and accentuated by high cheek bones. Her nose was small, more or less button-sized; and her lips were curled slightly upward, as if she was preparing to tell a naughty joke. Her overall face expression reminded Hermione of Crookshanks just after he had captured a mouse, an effect that made Hermione wonder what secrets Cataria possessed but might never reveal to her class. She had captured the hearts of all the boys, but many non-magic females coul do that. Hermione sensed, though, that something more than mere hormonal hexes were a part of this woman's arsenal and so actually began looking forward to the charms class.  
  
  
  
"What else does her biography say?" asked Ron. By now he was leaning into Harry so hard that Harry felt squashed into the side of the couch.  
  
  
  
"Here Ron, why don't you read it to us," Harry suggested as he came forth with a loud sigh.  
  
  
  
"Whoa, it says here that she is quite the athlete. She never played Quidditch, but she is a master of something called 'combat yoga." Ron surmised.  
  
  
  
Hermione pointed to the next phrase while she wrinkled her nose. "It says here that she is also quite fond of eating steaks cooked rare," Hermione noted, her new found enthusiasm for the latest charms professor waning a bit, "Honestly, whoever had a passion so much meat?"  
  
  
  
Immediately the three friends conceived of an answer to Hermione's ill- posed question. Although smiles flickered across Ron's and Harry's faces, nobody pulled the answer off its shelf in the air.  
  
"Look at this here," Harry pointed back to the sheet in an effort to change the subject, "It says that she is able to charm all sorts of animals and insects, from bees to big buck deer that roam the river bottom land along some stream called the Brazos. Apparently this is a river that flows to the south of Houston."  
  
  
  
"Wow," Ron's enthusiasm, which it seemed unlikely would be able to get much stronger than the seemingly full throttle operation it had exhibited, suddenly appeared to grow, "Look at the vehicle she is fond of driving. Even though it is not a magical car, it is magnificent!"  
  
  
  
He pointed to another photo which showed Cataria leaning against a great fashionable car of the roaring 1920's, a marvelous machine called the Duesenberg.  
  
  
  
"This car had the harmonious beauty of engineering brilliance and sheer beauty of line that elevated automobiles into an art form", quoted the charming Professor," Ron continued reading, as ever charmed.  
  
"Why does she want to go out into an old garden when she could be driving about the world in such a magnificent car," Ron wondered."I think she probably has the car charmed," Hermione's interest began to grow again, "I wonder if she charmed the impressive motor from the antique that came with the car."  
  
  
  
"I think she is looking forward to enchanting things even more ancient than the motor car," Harry suggested, "The brochure says we will be working with the runes carved on the gates that describe charms and secrets of the past. I wonder what she will have those old stone gates doing before are done. We may find them walking into a meeting of Magick historians, testifying about their vanished culture." As Harry was trying to stifle a giggle as he read this, they busted out laughing together.  
  
  
  
"I can just see the credits on the books now," Hermione grinned at the thought, "As told to Dr. Silverbough by the Ancient Gates of Hogsmede Garden."  
  
  
  
"I just can't wait to see her show up in the Garden for class in her car," Ron began dreaming, "Maybe, if the Gates get out of line, she will do some of her combat yoga on them."  
  
  
  
The three friends laughed a little to see such a sight in their minds' eyes.  
  
  
  
The last paragraph of the write-up on the professor had revealed the larger purpose of the class: studying a culture that might have been capable of standing up to a dark wizard as powerful as Voldemort. Hermione began pouring forth kind words almost immediately, as she relished the idea of doing something that might be as important as breaking the Nazi code had been in the Second World War.  
  
  
  
Harry and Ron were also delighted that their efforts in the charms class could help the war effort.  
  
So, with a war to win and an enchanting female to please, Hermione felt sure that her chums would field their strongest performance to date. Not a bad way to end an illustrious career as a Hogwarts student, in the company of good friends whose dedication to a class would finally begin to rival hers.  
  
  
  
"Well, we don't have long to wait," Harry reminded them, "The first day of class is tomorrow, in the Garden."  
  
  
  
  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The Duesenberg is the fabulously fancy car seen many times photographed with Clark Gable. 


	3. Billows and Fur

chapter two  
  
Billows and Fur  
  
Snape was both angry and stunned as he stared down the hallway. He had just run into the new professor and, for once, was left speechless by another's sarcasm. It took a moment for him to regain his composure enough to continue heading for his office.  
  
"Good evening Severus." said Remus in a warm gentle current.  
  
Snape spun around at the greeting, furious of another intrusion, and then realized his guest was indeed expected and he had forgotten to pick up the Wolfbane on the way.  
  
"We will need to go to my private lab Professor, I did not bring it with me" Snape grunted in a dangerous tone.  
  
Snape did not give Remus Lupin time to respond as he turned on his heel and headed back out the door with black robes billowing. Remus quickly jumped up from the couch and swiftly moved to be walking with the irritable Master of potions. Trying to think of something pleasant to talk about, Remus mentioned the new Professor on campus.  
  
"I was most impressed with our new Professor and her, grace." Remus mused.  
  
Snape let an eyebrow head north while he thought of the complicated implications of that statement.  
  
"Yes." he offered in a cool monotone. "She's a regular pussycat I suspect!" he continued.  
  
Remus puzzled at that remark but decided to chalk it up to Snape's unsocial attitude towards most people. While they stood in the light of the great fireplace of Snape's lab Remus also noticed that Severus looked particularly pale and tired.  
  
"Is there anything I can help you with Severus?" Remus offered.  
  
"You can drink your wolfbane and then get out!" Snape snarled. Snape drifted into one of the leather chairs facing the fireplace and began pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt one of his famous headaches pounding behind his eyes.  
  
~*~  
  
Arriving at her new office shortly after dinner, and the run in with Snape, Cataria was looking forward to some quiet time alone in her office to gather her thoughts and feelings about her new job. Maybe it was the distraction of so many new people and places swirling in her brain, but somehow she missed all signs of the guest until she turned around and spotted him, standing above her leather travel duffle bag, sniffing the top which had been drawn shut tight by a slender leather cord.  
  
In an instant, before she could even consciously process the image of the large dog who had somehow managed to get through her locked door and after her personal effects, she erupted into an involuntary and angry hiss,  
  
"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"  
  
She realized a moment later as she stretched her a sudden ache in her right hand, cramping had begun where fingers were bent into a claw shape. Recovering quickly, she spoke quietly and gently,  
  
"Well, well, what, or who, do we have here?" she asked.  
  
The dog looked up at her in silence and just stared at her for several moments, his eyes carefully and unhurriedly look over every inch of her.  
  
He walked towards the door, paused just in front of her and sniffed a sample of the air about her, and then just walked silently out of the room.  
  
"I wonder if this is Hagrid's idea of a joke, putting a fierce beast into the office of the new kid," she wondered aloud,  
  
"Maybe some of my students even helped put him up to it. I noticed that the famous Harry Potter spent some time around him this afternoon."  
  
She glanced up to see the dog once again standing in her doorway, staring silently, waiting, it seemed, to hear what else she had to say.  
  
She looked him right in his eyes and laughed quietly and with confidence,  
  
"You can go home, now, boy; and you can tell Hagrid or Snape or whoever it was who let you in here that I can play and will play, too. No hard feelings, but go home now."  
  
The dog tilted his head and, appearing to lose interest, strode silently down the hallway.  
  
~*~  
  
Snape exhaled in relief as the werewolf stood to leave his office and mind in peace. Lupin paused just inside the doorway to pose a question towards Snape.  
  
"I need someone to take my classes in the middle of the week Severus," Remus started.  
  
Snape waved an impatient hand and said, "Yes, yes I will take your classes during the full moon!" he grunted.  
  
Remus clearly understood Severus not only did not expect a thank you, but would be even more irritated by such a gesture. Turning quietly, Remus walked down the hall, hearing the office door slam shut behind him.  
  
It wasn't long before he spotted Snuffles padding down the other end. The large dog glanced towards Remus and paused. With a new sparkle dance across his brown eyes, he took off running to their shared quarters.  
  
"Must have something to tell me about." wondered Remus allowed and was startled by one of the portrait paintings agreeing with him.  
  
"Oh yes, saw him sniffing about the new Professor's office while I was visiting the Grey Lady for a spot of tea" stated the frumpy English woman of the painting. She settled into her overstated, overstuffed Louis the 14th mauve chair, bubbling to tell this remarkably handsome man all the gossip.  
  
"Was he?" asked Remus in mock surprise. He knew Miss Pierce could and would fill him in on all the goings on of the castle if he just played along with her style of telling the story. "Saw him hanging out near the Ravenclaw common rooms. He was listening to the upper class boys talking about their new Professor, went off to her office and let himself in." she sniffed.  
  
"Thank you Miss Pierce. You would make a wonderful lady detective." he mused. He was sure she blushed as she fussed with the lace on the cuff of her left sleeve. Remus entered the quarters to find a very smug looking Sirius lounged across the leather chair closest to the roaring fireplace.  
  
"Guess what I found out tonight about our new Professor!" Sirius quipped.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
Cataria prepared a cup of the special relaxation-inducing hot chocolate Dumbledore had presented her at a special faculty reception held in her honor earlier that day. She took her warm drink and sat back in the large padded chair behind her desk and took a long sip as she reflected on the events of her first day. She smiled mischievously as she thought of all the temporarily mush-brained male students whose eyes were glued on her during dinner, including that red-headed boy who was a special mate of the famous Harry Potter. She felt a little sorry for him, as her interest in getting a good look at the boy who lived had made Ron's infatuation stand out from the general hormone laden crowd. So great was the extent of his dreamy looks, she wondered if Ron would be able to respond verbally when she called roll the next day in class.  
  
She smiled a little wider, knowing she would enjoy seeing the effect she had on the male population throughout the semester. Anticipating a pervasive male response, Dumbledore suggested she might even want to contact Gilderoy Lockhart to find out how he had handled the hordes of female admirers he had swept away during his tenure as charms Professor at the school a few years earlier. She would not do this, though, as she knew she had her ways.  
  
She was still puzzled, though, by the presence of the dog. She had met Hagrid earlier, and he had seemed pleased with her. He had insisted on introducing her to every one of the creatures he tended to, and none of the dogs he showed her looked like the one that had been in her office. Then she thought again of Snape: could he have been so upset at her unsettling snipes that he had decided a bit of hazing was in order for the new girl? He did not seem the type, however, to do anything so juvenile. True, he did not appear to be accustomed to getting bested at either sarcasm or sneers; but she could only imagine that any response from him would go all the way. Nothing that would be a prank, but something that would really get noticed, perhaps appearing more drastic and damaging, on first glance, than it actually was. She had made the chocolate more powerful than she had intended, so she began drifting off to sleep in her comfortably padded chair. As she drifted into a sleep void of dogs, she imagined herself engaged in another round of sarcastic fire at Snape, her lips unconsciously forming a contented smile as she sank deeper into what promised to be a quite pleasing dream.  
  
~*~  
  
On the other side of the castle, two floors down, sat the very person of her sweet dreaming. He, on the other hand, was stubbornly trying not to think about her. Small movements under the covers of his bed caught his eye and it made him sigh out a large, well deserved breath.  
  
"Spot" he drawled "Do you want tuna, or eye of Dobby? He continued, as the corners of his mouth twitched to suppress a smile.  
  
Several times in the past couple of years, Severus had threatened the all too helpful elf that he would pickle him and take him jar and all to the potions classroom. Dobby was accustomed to be threatened in the past by the family Malfoy and therefore decided not venture into the dungeon quarters again. Severus of course, would not have really harmed the elf, but the threat's outcome had been his just reward.  
  
Now, he needed to take care of the one being who never paid his mocking threats any attention. One Christmas holiday, Severus had found the half starved kitten in the lower dungeons. With Hagrid on Holiday he was left to take care of kitten and found that he really did like the little bugger. Spot grew into a large, orange, long haired cat who loved to lay on Snape's chest and purr himself to sleep. There was something funny about Spot as well because, every time Severus set up the chess board, he would smack the black Knight off the board and run off with it. Spot was also famous for sticking his bushy head in Severus's mugs and finishing off his tea or coffee.  
  
Spot stuck a head out from under the blankets and mewed towards his companion. Stretching broke his cooing into several chopped versions of meows that caused a grin to force itself to the foreground within the twinkle of Snape's eyes.  
  
"What am I going to do with you Spot" he said as he stroked the back of his cat. Spot answered by head butting his chest at heart level.  
  
"You are a regular con artist, don't think I don't know it!" he said in that velvet chocolate voice. Spot chirped in response, circled around his lap a few times and laid down for a nap. 


	4. Charms and Crystals

Chapter 3  
  
CHARMS AND CRYSTALS  
  
  
  
"Good morning class! I am glad to see you all out here and ready to begin." stated Professor Silverbough.  
  
"I would like to get better acquainted with each of you today, as well as you all learn new things about each other. Before we head to the garden I would like to know if anyone here can tell me the meaning of my name." she smiled.  
  
Hermione squinted with knowing something just on the tip of her tongue but for once it was not her hand that answered the question.  
  
"Yes Mr. Longbottom?" Silverbough said  
  
"Silverbough is the apple tree used to make wands for charming" he stuttered.  
  
"Fantastic answer Mr. Longbottom! 10 points to Gryffindor." she announced.  
  
The Professor turned towards the garden and waved her arm for the class to follow her.  
  
"Um, Professor?" Neville said in a squeaky tone  
  
"Yes Mr. Longbottom?" she paused  
  
"The rest of your name, Madam, it is related to the catnip plant" he strained. There were giggles of disbelief among the students until the Professor spoke again.  
  
"Why Mr. Longbottom! Another 10 points to Gryffindor for your superb knowledge in herbatology." she said clearly.  
  
Neville was slapped on the back by several of the Gryffindor boys as they passed him to walk down the field. He was blushing to his roots knowing he had never won so many points before.  
  
~*~  
  
"Balls!" That is what the new charms teacher had for the class the first day, and Hermione was not amused.  
  
"Honestly, you would think was some sort of physical education class and not a seventh year charms class," Hermione waved her right hand dismissive at the table on which a large assortment of colored balls, about the size of baseballs, was located.  
  
"Well, just keep an open mind," Harry encouraged her, with Ron soon jumping in delightedly to add a little salt to her minor wound,  
  
"Yeah, like you are always telling us!" he grinned.  
  
Hermione sighed as Professor Silverbough walked to the front of the group of seventh years and addressed them,  
  
"I thought we might get started with a little game of catch, just to loosen everyone up a bit. Divide into groups of two, with each group selecting a ball. If my count is correct, we will have one extra student, so someone will have to play catch me."  
  
Instantly a dozen male hands went up, with several faces, including Ron's, pleading,  
  
"Me, me, me."  
  
"Oh, let me see, I understand that Miss Granger is the best student among the seventh years, so I will give her the honor of starting the class with the teacher."  
  
Hermione, still downcast at the idea of an advanced magic class starting with a game of catch, muttered, "Fantastic."  
  
Ron shaking his head, disappointed that the one who would appreciate the chance the least had been chosen, went to the table and got a purple ball with yellow spots for catch with Harry.  
  
"We will throw the balls in synchrony with one another," Professor Silverbough announced, "At my word, the one holding the ball with throw it to the designated partner. Okay, everyone ready? Go!" Ron threw the ball, which felt to him about as heavy as a shotput, underhanded to Harry; and he was amazed when it seemed to just glide easily out of his hands and float at a moderate pace to Harry. He noticed, looking across the field next to the garden ruins where the class was meeting, that each ball seemed to be having a different reaction.  
  
A Slytherin boy throwing to a Hufflepuff boy saw his ball thud into the ground and roll heavily about seven feet, tearing a two inch deep rut through the grass and dirt as it did.  
  
A Ravenclaw boy tossing to a Gryffindor girl saw his ball float lightly up in front of him at 90 degrees for about ten feet and then bounce rather giddily the distance to the girl before gliding down in circles to land quietly at her feet.  
  
The biggest surprise of all, however, came from Hermione's toss. She had halfheartedly tossed the ball with an underhand throw, hoping to give it just enough energy to roll to the professor after it landed a few feet before her. To everyone's amazement, the ball took with the sound of a jet engine, roared to about a hundred feet and then circled Professor Silverbough noisily before going into a roaring dive bomb, only to stop about five inches before her forehead, falling harmlessly and quietly to the ground.  
  
Professor Silverbough smiled at the class of awestruck and curious faces but said nothing as she picked up the ball. Tossing it once into the air playfully, she looked at the class and said,  
  
"Interesting first half of the first round! Now, I want the other partner to toss the ball back. When we are done, we will all switch partners until everyone has been a partner with every other student."  
  
Ron and Harry looked delighted, as did several of the other boys who loved physical activity. Hermione, however, still seemed rather downcast. After catching the ball from the professor, however, Hermione seemed to realize something so that a slight smile emerged on her lips.  
  
Professor Silverbough noticed this and smiled back at Hermione, whose smile increased. She noted that Professor Silverbough then quickly and unobtrusively put a finger straight up before her lips and then removed it. Hermione, stepping in front of her next partner, rather gaily called out, "Play ball, Malfoy?"  
  
Professor Silverbough could not wait to see what was coming next.  
  
~*~  
  
Professor Dumbledore quietly stood at the window of his office watching the class throwing the special balls. As he stroked the head of the lustrous feathered bird perched on his shoulder he remarked,  
  
"Fawkes, I think it is shaping up to be a very interesting and probably eventful year" he said as his eyes twinkled.  
  
Just then Draco Malfoy went skidding three meters across the grass and landed hard on his rear. The ball flew up and came back down quickly as it bounce off the top of his head. Dumbledore stifled a smile as he summoned Poppy to hurry to the western fields as her assistance may be required from a student. He would have to speak with Cataria about her pairing of the students when using charmed objects he mused to himself.  
  
~*~  
  
"Mr. Malfoy," Professor Silverbough began with great concern as she ran over to his side,  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Ron, however, was possessed of the biggest facial grin to ever dominate someone's countenance in the history of the British Isles! He was thinking of asking Hermione to become a beater on the Quidditch team as well.  
  
As Ron was pondering sweet dreams of such upcoming Quidditch matches involving Malfoy getting knocked clean off his broom, he felt something bump into his right foot. Looking down, he noticed that one of the balls had rolled to a stop at his feet, starting to roll again once he looked at it. The ball rolled over his foot and continued rolling for about fifty yards as he followed it, snaking its way through the increasingly tall grass as he entered the ruined garden. Finally, he and it came to a stop about a foot away from the base of a large triangular monument whose topped had cracked off over the years.  
  
  
  
To Ron's astonishment the ball suddenly began rolling up the steep stone side until it reached the lower end of the cracked top, when it went over and dropped in, only to bounce up and down a few times before rolling down the slope again to land at his feet.  
  
Ron quickly and skillfully scaled the monument and peered inside, finding a rather large and odd shaped crystal that was a little more than half the size of his head.  
  
"Good thing it is not nearly half the size of Percy's head," Ron grinned as he remembered how his twin brothers once teased Percy for being a "big-Head boy" on campus.  
  
Oddly, once the stone was in has hands, it shrunk to about the size of a tennis ball, a very light and unusually shaped tennis ball. Ron saw the professor calling the students to gather around for a first lecture as Madam Pomfrey was levitating Malfoy to the infirmary. He thrust the crystal into his pocket and raced off to join the group, the ball following a little more slowly behind him. 


End file.
